A snowstorm blanketed the north central portion of Texas where I live last Thursday with up to 10 inches of snow. That is more snow in one day than we have had in the last 10 years. This is the third snowfall since Thanksgiving. Yet they talk about Global Warming??
Thursday was great, the snow was falling, quietly, steadily all day. Little flakes, then big flakes, some as fine as raindrops. Falling, falling, grinding this part of the world to a halt. Snowtires, chains, sand, salt, these are not in a Texans’ winter vocabulary, so we are never prepared.
I got sent home from work early, and as giddy as a schoolchild freed for the summer, I made large plans for the evening. I went out and built a snowman, complete with baseball cap and sunglasses, then back in the house. There would be no venturing out as the roads were slick, so I was going to hunker down in the warmth with my dog and veg in front of the tv. Maybe indulge in a chicken pot pie, which is NOT Weight Watchers® friendly. WRONG. Got home and flipped on the tv, “searching for satellite signal”, and search it did, and never found one. So I flipped over and watched the shows I had taped, Adam 12, Dragnet, Jag, Big Bang Theory, but it wasn’t the same. I wasn’t connected to the outside world, no running banner of school closings and weather bulletins.
It finally hit me that the snow might be a problem, so I retrieved a ladder from the big little shed and climbed up with a broom to de-snow my satellite dish with a broom. It was partially successful, but not enough, so in desperation I unplugged the converter box from the small tv and attached it to the living room tv. At least I got to watch The Mentalist, and the school closings and the weather bulletins. Not quite the evening I planned, but I did read a novel I had started, so all was good. And still it snowed. Quietly, steadily coming down. Something I didn’t realize, Snow is HEAVY! Carports buckled, trees cracked and power lines snapped.
Got in bed and slept soundly until the alarm went off. Tried to turn on the radio to hear how bad it was and nothing. No whirring, no humming, no clicking, no warmth. At some point the power had gone out. I stayed under the covers until I realized I needed to get up and get dressed or it would be too cold. So I pulled on a thermal shirt, a long sleeved shirt, a sweatshirt and a hat, then a pair of long underwear, knee socks, sweat pants, fuzzy slipper socks and slipper boots.
I sat down to survey my options and there weren’t many. No power meant no cooking, meant anything I ate would be cold and I was cold already. I settled into my chair with three blankets and my dog and read, then took a short nap, then read some more. By then I had gloves on my hands and my dog around my neck. Ran to the store and got a hot sandwich while I was out to stave off starvation.
Finally decided it would be better to leave than freeze, so went to the show and saw The Tooth Fairy. It was cute. I got warmed up and left the theater convinced that the power would be on when I got home. Eternal optimist that I am, it wasn’t. Sat and read some more, shoveled a little snow, read till I finished the book. Prayed. Decided we would go to my parents’ home where there was heat and warmth and food, so ran around packing up clothes for myself and treats, food and toys for three dogs. By the time my housemate pulled in the driveway, I was sitting on the ottoman rocking back and forth, trying to keep it all together in the absolute stillness that surrounded me, that had surrounded me all day. At that point there wasn’t much difference in temperature in the outside and the inside of the house, and dark was coming.
She grabbed a couple of things and off we went to spend the week-end “in the country.”
I thank God that there are people who know how to fix electricity. I thank God for the people that drove to work on Friday morning so I could get a warm sandwich and sit in a warm theater. It pointed out to me how dependant I am on electricity, not just for heat and food, but my internet didn’t work, and my cell phone started going down fast. I felt like I was alone, deserted in the cold stillness that was my house with no contact to the outside world.
It got me to wondering is that how people who are separated from God feel? Knowing help, and warmth and love are so close, if they will but make the decision to reach for it? Yes, we could have toughed it out at the house, it would have been a long, cold night, and we would have suffered needlessly, when warmth, love and food were so close.
It did make me realize that all those lovely thoughts I ever had about living in Colorado were bogus, as about two weeks of non-stop snow/slush/snow would drive me back down to Texas. While I admire the snow from afar, and on occasional visits, sloshing through it with any sort of regularity is a completely different reality.
I think my power goes out every once in a while to remind me that I don’t want to suffer a POWER failure. Thank you God, for keeping me plugged in to you.
I’m sure it’s all Punsutawaney Phil’s fault, seeing his stupid shadow!
Stay warm.
Stevie
Copyright 2010 Stevie Stevens, Fort Worth, TX. For information contact faithleap@sbcglobal.net
No comments:
Post a Comment